“How do I sell without being salsey?” This is the most common question I’ve gotten over the decades. You aren’t alone if you feel nervous and awkward about “selling”. Tons of people have that creepy, pushy, used-car-salesman association and I SO get it! I was SO afraid of selling when I started my knitwear business in the early 90s. In fact, I worked at the store my sweaters were sold at, and when customers were

Chances are, if you don’t know Toronto business coach and entrepreneur Laura-Jean Bernhardson, you know someone who does. With 30+ years of experience as a fashion entrepreneur and her 21-year run of the successful brick and mortar Fresh Collective, Laura-Jean has touched hundreds of Toronto entrepreneurs’ lives, designers, and happy customers. Mostly self-taught, she has run multiple businesses across multiple industries while coaching the businesses of others. (Check out her full story on the road

I did a simple exercise with my clients at the last Space to Create Day, organized for my Unfuck Your Business Club. We took a look at that one obstacle that pops up all the time when we’re trying to do something great. Try reflecting on this yourself, right now. Think about the last time you came up with a groundbreaking idea. You probably envisioned it in all its brilliance, and then something popped into

In October 2018, I started thinking about becoming a speaker. I imagined myself speaking at women’s entrepreneurship conferences across the country and what that could do for my coaching business. And, I had a lot of stuff in my way. Fears about public speaking. Didn’t know how to structure a talk. Didn’t know how to get into those conferences. And it could have been one of those things that just lived in the background for

So you’re thinking of hiring a business coach… Congratulations! There are so many advantages to having an outside expert helping you with your business strategy and challenges! So how do you know how to choose the right coach for you? It really comes down to 2 simple things: 1. Expertise – Does this person have the expertise to give you the results you want? What experience do they have and is it suitable for your

On October 5 I had the awesome experience of speaking at the Happy Healthy Women Abundance Summit. Here is that speech. My name is Laura-Jean Bernhardson, I’m an Entrepreneur and Business Coach and a Trailblazer with Happy Healthy Women. When Natalie asked me to speak, I thought my topic was going to be marketing. So I said yes. When Natalie updated me and said my topic was Abundant Success, I laughed out loud. That news

A while back on Facebook, I asked what entrepreneurs were dealing with so that I could create blog content directly addressing people’s issues. This comment jumped out at me, and it’s been in my head ever since as I wasn’t sure how to address it. Taylor A Eh- I’d just like ‘it gets better’ stories 😉 I know it does but the caveman part of my brain refuses to believe it. So Taylor, this one’s

I started my first business part-time making jewellery in 1992, and transitioned to full-time by 1994 making jewellery and then sweaters. When I quit my part-time restaurant job, my goal was to make it to the 6 month mark without needing a part-time job. If I made it that far, I figured, I could make it to a year. And that became my way of life. Making it through 6 months and then a year